Presenting CP Daily, Carbon Pulse’s free newsletter. It’s a daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world. Subscribe here

TOP STORY

India to close Paris clean energy fund, divert revenues -paper

India will shut down a major fund for renewable energy projects and divert the cash to state government coffers instead, according to local media.

ASIA PACIFIC

Key China climate think-tank vice director joins Energy Foundation

One of China’s key climate policy academics has left his role as vice director of China’s government-led climate policy think-tank NCSC to become president of NGO Energy Foundation China.

EMEA

EU Market: EUAs inch higher as auction crimp looms

EU carbon prices nudged slightly higher on Monday in a becalmed session that brought a halt to last week’s sell-off, as the end of higher summer auction volumes looms.

AMERICAS

Offset developer ALLCOT opens Central American office

Sustainability firm and low-CO2 project developer ALLCOT Group has opened a Central American office to manage its operations in the region and the Caribbean, it announced on Friday.

———————————

Job listings this week:

• Lead Consultant, Sustainable Supply Chains, South Pole Group – London/Stockholm
• Director, Decision Metrics & Finance, Climate-KIC – Any European office
• GHG Analyst (Senior or Junior), Ecometrica – Montreal
• Technical and Policy Analyst (BC Region), Pembina Institute – Vancouver
• Climate Change & International Environmental Specialist, COWI – Lyngby/Aarhus/Brussels
• Project Manager, International Energy Engineering Services, Green Powered Technology – Washington DC

Or click here to see all our job adverts

———————————

BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

More investment – The UK has launched the first phase of a £246 million investment into battery technology, part of the government’s industrial strategy that was published in January. It unveiled a competition to establish a centre for battery research including a £45 million competition to make batteries more affordable, and said new rules will make it easier for householders to generate their own power with solar panels, store it in batteries, and sell it to the grid. The country also announced a number of other programmes including a £25 million initiative to explore the potential use of hydrogen for heating buildings and a £9.8 million investment in the second phase of it Smart Systems and Heat Programme, run by the Energy Systems Catapult.

Fewer jobs – The UK’s Renewable Energy Association compiled data showing that the pace of green jobs growth in the UK has slowest to its lowest level in five years. Jobs in wind, solar, biofuel, and other clean power rose to a record of just under 126,000 last year, which was only 2.5% up from the previous year – the smallest increase since 2012 and below the 9% hike in 2014. The UK energy sector has grown increasingly frustrated by delays on policy decisions affecting future investments. (Financial Times, $)

Fun while it lasted – Alberta’s two main conservative parties have voted to unite, creating a political heavyweight in the heart of Canada’s oil patch that is poised to unseat NDP Premier Rachel Notley in the 2019 election and push to kill the province’s carbon tax.  Members of the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties voted to ratify a merger agreement in results announced Saturday. The merger will create a United Conservative Party in the province by combining parties that hold 30 of 87 districts but received 52 percent of the vote in the last election, and are each outpacing Notley in recent polls. However, a repeal of Alberta’s carbon tax will set up a collision course with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has imposed a minimum carbon price nationally as of 2018. (Bloomberg)

No more for us, please – Australia’s largest power generator AGL Energy has urged the government to exclude coal from its planned clean energy target and said there is no appetite among private investors to fund new coal-fired power plants. AGL, which sources 77% of its electricity generation from coal, said including the fossil fuel in the target would send the wrong signal for the industry, which should prioritize more low-cost, efficient clean energy alternatives. “The danger is you convince yourself that you see coal in your future and therefore if it doesn’t happen and the markets don’t deliver it, the government may step in and do it,” AGL Chief Executive Officer Andy Vesey said in an interview last week. “The industry is not going to invest in things that don’t make sense.” (Bloomberg)

Always and forever – Indonesia’s environment minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said she wants to make permanent a moratorium on issuing new licences to use land designated as primary forest and peatland. The moratorium, part of an effort to reduce emissions from fires caused by deforestation, was extended by President Joko Widodo for a third time in May. (Reuters)

And finally… Tesla for ships – Norway’s Yara and Kongsberg are taking the lead in the race to build the world’s first crewless, autonomously operated ship, an advance that could mark a turning point in seaborne trade. Dubbed the “Tesla of the Seas,” a vessel is scheduled in late 2018 to start sailing fertilizer 37 miles down a fiord from a production facility to the port of Larvik, navigating itself around other boat traffic and to dock on its own. (Wall Street Journal)

Got a tip? Email us at news@carbon-pulse.com